A while ago we did a post on how to progress dribbling a playground size ball starting with two hands and working down to one hand while walking. Here is a video also explaining the process also: Another way we have worked on dribbling a ball is for kids that have a hard time understanding […]
Using the Ball for Rolling
We recently had posts for practicing rolling from back to stomach and from stomach to back. Check out the videos below for ideas on how to use the the therapy ball to help! You can also use this same idea with bigger kids who are working on rolling, just use one of the really large […]
Using the Ball for Getting into Sitting
I am a big fan of using the therapy ball for helping little ones learn new techniques. I think it is great for helping them to get into sitting from their back. Using the combination of the ball rolling, gravity, and my hands, they start to learn what the movement feels like for this transition […]
Helping New Walkers Find Stability
We have done a lot of posts recently on core strength for stability. Here is one for standing and here is one for sitting! These are always somewhat ‘easier’ when a child is older and can easily follow directions. However if you read our last post, we talked about the need for stability with kids […]
Core Strength and New Walkers
When kids first learn to walk, they aren’t steady or confident in their motor skills and balance (not that they know this, but their bodies do) and they need ways to control all the joints. They will often lock out joints to control degrees of freedom so there are less things moving that they have […]
Core Stability vs Core Strength
I was recently on a hike with a friend and she asked why are people always saying the kids in her class need more core strength. To her, they seemed to be plenty strong, and then she listed all the activities they could do. When I asked what they had trouble with that led people […]
5 Ways to Make Tummy Time Successful
Sometimes I feel like Tummy Time has become the 4 letter word of parenting (similar to how I feel about w-sitting). Not only that, I feel like my friends who are new mom’s think I am the tummy time police! As soon as I see them they let me know how often they have been […]
Some Fun Ideas for Encouraging Activity
I was browsing through the newest Family Fun magazine and I have to say I was quite impressed with the items they had that encouraged kids and families to be active. Not only that, several of them also encouraged learning as well. I thought I would share some of the activities in case you would […]
Using the Ball vs the Platform Swing for Balance Reactions
As a therapist, we use the therapy ball a lot with our kids. It helps them to work on balance reactions and postural control as well as provides vestibular input in a variety of directions. The kids love it because usually we sing to them and bounce them and they may even forget they […]